Please feel free to add, Subtract or edit this info. as or if you feel necessary.

without waffling to much and as I interpret at this point in time.without available funds and as I consider a suitable order of things to consider for setting up a new system disregarding software & camera types and considering within your $ limits as you progress and current technology ( and always considering ones financial limitations.

1. Monitors (As these are what you will be interpreting the final image before printing and they do make a difference IMO)

a. IPS technology preferable (and as just learnt "thank you Rick" can the monitor itself be Calibrated and how important is it to you) Only you can know what is going to be important to you and how far you want to go & spend

2. Graphics cards

a. How many monitors do you want to have connected to your system.

b. On board RAM (memory) the more the merrier within reason & price do play a part in this component but you may not need to go as far as the $400 + cards but if you can afford something in the $200 range it should put most people in the ball park under $100's then you are probably doing yourself and the rest or your system a disfavor

c. Does the card allow for & support individual calibration to each monitor. "Thank you Rick for new info re this point"

d. Connections Make sure the connections on the card to the monitors you choose are the same or compatible later technology is DVI-A, DVI-D, DVI-I (A- analog, D-Digital, I universal. or HDMI latest technology VGA & SVGA are not really supported now. (others can add here if they like).

3. CPU. (In my case only as an example !!!!) I'm looking at AMD only from a $'s aspect as for me they can be a little cheaper. But always consider Intel you might see something at a good price. If your not doing gaming you wont need the high end CPU's

a. Does it have graphics built in. (others may like to add & or clarify this for others

b. Type & Speed of CPU (in my case will be looking at the AMD FX series most now support 64 bit & Quad core technology but some are Dual core Hypo threaded. others can add or clarify for others as required)

4. Motherboard

a. I'm not going into any real detail here as there are so many types out there it's to much to go into except to say if your not doing gaming you want need to necessarily need the high end price boards. But make sure it's a board that properly supports the CPU you purchase.

b. If your want to have multiple monitors and require 2 Graphics cards, then you may need to consider a board with 2 PCI E X 16, slots but these will normally be a more expensive board. there is probably more info that can be added here but I will leave this to those with more knowledge than me.

4. RAM (memory for the motherboard)

a. Quality is also relevant here as well although to a degree that is higher now than a number of years ago. most come in pairs and that's the best way to buy it and if getting multiple sticks try to get matched pairs and if your spending more and get the same batch number then that can help with comparability. (other may want to add or clarify here feel free).

5. Hard Disc Drives

a. SSD is the newer technology and is worth the expense with newer systems that are able to support it there have been a few posts already so I'm not going to expand on this but leave for others to add if they wish.

6. Power supply

a. Get a good power supply into you case it is worth spending a bit more here as if you do have extra gear eg. Graghics cards and Optical drives it does drain on the system and can affect performance. (There may be more that others can add here).

7. Hard Disc Drives

a. There are many types out there now so to say much is to a point unnecessary except there are a few thoughts as regards back up and protection from loss of data. (My thoughts only for those who may be new and or not thought of before) are don't store everything on one HDD, have may be a couple of HDD's in your COMP. case and a couple of external drives for back up and keeping your original RAW images saved to and maybe one with backups that can be swapped over and kept at someone elses place and updated regularly in case of something major happens but I will leave this for others to add to as required.

Well I know that's probably more waffle than I intended but I hope it can be a starting point for uninitiated or new comers to consider.

If this is or similar is available some where else then feel free to remove or modified and or make available as a download after re-jigging document then feel free to do so.